Third Scout dies in Texas sailing accident

AVINGER, Texas — A third Boy Scout has died from injuries suffered when a sailboat struck an overhanging power line on a lake east of Dallas, an official with Texas Parks & Wildlife said.

The 11-year-old Scout died Monday at a hospital in Shreveport, Texas Parks & Wildlife spokesman Steve Lightfoot said.

The boy was sailing in a catamaran Saturday with two older boys, one 17 and the other 16, when it struck the power line at Lake O’The Pines near Avinger, 150 miles from Dallas.

Daniel Anderson, chief operating officer for the East Texas Boy Scouts of America, said a Scout leader reached the boat within minutes but the two older boys were already dead. The oldest teen was found in the boat while the other two fell into the water.

Authorities have not released the names of the victims and said earlier electrocution was suspected.

Anderson said the trio was just off shore when the catamaran struck the line operated by Upshur Rural Electric Cooperative. He said other Scouts were at a camp site on private land and it immediately became apparent to them that the three were in distress. Another boat nearby gathered the 11-year-old and took him to shore to an awaiting ambulance.

It wasn’t clear Monday why the power line was overhanging the water, in proximity to watercraft.

AP/The News-Journal/LES HASSELL Dan Thompson (right) and Tony Little, 13, both with Troop 620, participate in a candlelight vigil Sunday in Hallsville, Texas, in regard to a fatal Scout boating accident.